Domestic Cricket Schedule Reboot - Ideas

[Bring back John Fifita]

Issues with the current / previous schedules have been posted in various threads ad-hoc in the Cricket Forums...

But in watching a bit of the Sheffield Shield last week, geez it hit home about "whats the f---ing point of this??". It's been over a month since the last Test was played, and no more tests til the end of this year (yes I know SA tour was cancelled).

What are your ideas (if any), proposals for an "optimised" Domestic Cricket schedule in Australia .... ie Takes into account

• Tests
• International ODI
• International T20
• Sheffield Shield
• Domestic One-Day
• BBL

Mine...

(ok it's hard to represent on a table or timeline here but trust this makes sense).

• All September = Domestic one-day
• October to December = Sheffield Shield
• November to (early) January = Test Series
• (mid) January to (early) Feb = International ODI
• Start January to End Feb = BBL
• Mid February to End February - International T20.

Reasoning

• Kick off first class season with Domestic One Dayers. Gets all the international players involved - dust off winter cobwebs, and something else to watch if your footy team has missed the finals (yes, Dragons fan here..), Get it over and done with in a month.
• Start the Sheffield Shield (SS) in October, and continue it until conclusion in December. Im adamant the SS is primarily their to maximise the strength of our Test Team. Yes it might mean the SS Final is played without internationals reps but here, players are continuously playing concurrently to the tests - supporting form players to be considered for Tests, or players who need form to get back into the Test Team. The Shield is basically there up until the boxing day test. Final could be played parallel to Boxing Day Test.. not ideal for audience but then again the audience isn't necessarily big as it is.
• Tests Nov - Jan as per usual (pre Covid)
• The International ODI's is the trickiest but coming straight off the Tests (as it used to be) to keep the visitors around seems most logical to me.
• BBL - All January & into Feb. Needs to be in School Holidays to maximise its audience. With this type of schedule, it doesn't then "compromise" the Test team by taking away the Sheffield Shield.
• International T20 to finish the season. There's usually only a few of these and BBL should help dictate who gets selected. Also gives BBL a bit more "meaning" as players are competing for International spots.

Note - Perhaps International ODI & T20 could be reviewed going into a world cup year..


Anyway - it mightn't be perfect but I think it's far better than we have at present. Keen on the ideas of others (not just shitcanning mine - which is the easy thing to do!).

Cheers

 

[Twizzle]

ditch the big wank, or at least reduce it to a couple of weeks, its far too long and boring and stops too many shield games which we are seriously lacking

 

[TheParraboy]

Issues with the current / previous schedules have been posted in various threads ad-hoc in the Cricket Forums...

But in watching a bit of the Sheffield Shield last week, geez it hit home about "whats the f---ing point of this??". It's been over a month since the last Test was played, and no more tests til the end of this year (yes I know SA tour was cancelled).

What are your ideas (if any), proposals for an "optimised" Domestic Cricket schedule in Australia .... ie Takes into account

• Tests
• International ODI
• International T20
• Sheffield Shield
• Domestic One-Day
• BBL

Mine...

(ok it's hard to represent on a table or timeline here but trust this makes sense).

• All September = Domestic one-day
• October to December = Sheffield Shield
• November to (early) January = Test Series
• (mid) January to (early) Feb = International ODI
• Start January to End Feb = BBL
• Mid February to End February - International T20.

Reasoning

• Kick off first class season with Domestic One Dayers. Gets all the international players involved - dust off winter cobwebs, and something else to watch if your footy team has missed the finals (yes, Dragons fan here..), Get it over and done with in a month.
• Start the Sheffield Shield (SS) in October, and continue it until conclusion in December. Im adamant the SS is primarily their to maximise the strength of our Test Team. Yes it might mean the SS Final is played without internationals reps but here, players are continuously playing concurrently to the tests - supporting form players to be considered for Tests, or players who need form to get back into the Test Team. The Shield is basically there up until the boxing day test. Final could be played parallel to Boxing Day Test.. not ideal for audience but then again the audience isn't necessarily big as it is.
• Tests Nov - Jan as per usual (pre Covid)
• The International ODI's is the trickiest but coming straight off the Tests (as it used to be) to keep the visitors around seems most logical to me.
• BBL - All January & into Feb. Needs to be in School Holidays to maximise its audience. With this type of schedule, it doesn't then "compromise" the Test team by taking away the Sheffield Shield.
• International T20 to finish the season. There's usually only a few of these and BBL should help dictate who gets selected. Also gives BBL a bit more "meaning" as players are competing for International spots.

Note - Perhaps International ODI & T20 could be reviewed going into a world cup year..


Anyway - it mightn't be perfect but I think it's far better than we have at present. Keen on the ideas of others (not just shitcanning mine - which is the easy thing to do!).

Cheers

I like it.

Couple of problem areas

The BBL is a big cash cow, and they want to capatilize fully on the school holiday market, so mid December will always be the starting point. Though id like it to end mid January. Play the same format as the women's, but again the cash cow wont allow that (locked in tv rights, for a few years anyway)

Sept-Oct we are usually somewhere in the world playing international cricket. Plus when they return most international players will have some time off, get right for the international summer..

Covid may have had a bit to do with some of the scheduling this summer, particularly Shield and the Marsh cup

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

ditch the big wank, or at least reduce it to a couple of weeks, its far too long and boring and stops too many shield games which we are seriously lacking

I agree it’s too long. Less is more etc.

Changing the rules with all these gimmicks doesn’t / won’t cut it.

Having a shortened / condensed tournament will have benefits IMO.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

I like it.

Couple of problem areas

The BBL is a big cash cow, and they want to capatilize fully on the school holiday market, so mid December will always be the starting point. Though id like it to end mid January. Play the same format as the women's, but again the cash cow wont allow that (locked in tv rights, for a few years anyway)

Sept-Oct we are usually somewhere in the world playing international cricket. Plus when they return most international players will have some time off, get right for the international summer..

Covid may have had a bit to do with some of the scheduling this summer, particularly Shield and the Marsh cup

I do get the School Holidays thing. But the BBL is enormously compromising the Test team at present.... by knocking away Sheffield Shield.

Outside school holidays may affect crowds, gate revenue. But I’d think it’d have minimal impact on eyeballs on TV screens. Especially in the horrible February “sports lull”..

I was looking for some kind of balance here in my “schedule”. There’s no perfect solution.

And yep if the Australian Test/ODI team is overseas in Sept/Oct no problem... play domestic schedule as is...

Interested to hear any schedule proposal you might have..

 

[TIGER14]

You're right, Big Bash needs be based around school holidays. But it needs to fit entirely into the school holidays. If you go into late Feb half the season will be during the School Term.

 

[roofromoz]

It will never happen, but scale back the Big Bash to a 2/3 week tournament, say in early January between the end of the Tests and start of the ODIs so the international players can also appear, split it into two pools, play each other once, maybe then a Super 4 style finals series (play the other 2 teams from the opposite side), then top 2 final.

Primacy must be given back to state cricket, particularly the Shield and align it with the Test series so players who get dropped from the Test team go back to red ball, and vice versa to potentially reward those peeling off centuries and getting bags of wickets in the Shield.

The domestic one day comp could follow the same vein and play it during the ODI series.

The T20I series could be straight after the Big Bash final and could be a way of rewarding those high performing players with an Australian appearance, almost a BBL all stars type thing.

 

[baggygreen man]

• All September = Domestic one-day
• October to December = Sheffield Shield
• November to (early) January = Test Series
• (mid) January to (early) Feb = International ODI
• Start January to End Feb = BBL
• Mid February to End February - International T20.

Totally with you. The day CA butchered our Shield by cutting it in half to fit in BBL while school kids were on holiday, was when one of the strongest domestic competitions in the sport became a joke. The Shield needs to be played over a 10 consecutive game block again as for no other reason, that it allows our Baggy Green stars a perfect prep for the Test season. It also provide fringe Test players with vital red ball cricket in case they are needed as an injury or out of form replacement. This is currently not possible with white ball cricket dominating this period instead. And white ball cricket is totally unsuitable for Test preparation.

 

[baggygreen man]

Also gives BBL a bit more "meaning" as players are competing for International spots.

You and I know this has to be the case.. but CA is now on record as saying.. the BBL is not for determining T20 form it is for entertainment (or words to that effect). Bewildering statement coming from those running our game. But certainly in keeping with what we have always suspected.. that the BBL is purely for filling CA coffers. It is its 'cash cow' and it takes precedence over any other format..

 

[baggygreen man]

Ok Footy season over for this Dragon diehard.. bring on our summer of cricket.

 

[baggygreen man]

There has been quite a lot of player movement in the domestic off season for '21/22.


QLD BULLS:
No surprise the Shield champs have kept the bulk of their squad together for their title defense, with the exception of paceman Brendan Doggett and Nathan McSweeney, with both boosting the ranks of the SACA Redbacks. Promising all rounder James Bazley has been upgraded to a full deal while Will Prestwidge, the son of ex-Bulls all rounder Scott has earned a rookie contract. The club tho has bid sayonara to both Corey Hunter and Benji Floros.

In: James Bazley, Will Prestwidge
Out: Brendan Doggett (SA), Nathan McSweeney (SA), Corey Hunter, Benji Floros delisted

Squad: Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Joe Burns, Max Bryant, Blake Edwards, Sam Heazlett, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne*, Michael Neser, Lachlan Pfeffer, Jimmy Peirson, Matt Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Mark Steketee, Bryce Street, Mitch Swepson, Jack Wildermuth, Jack Wood. Rookies: Jack Clayton, Will Prestwidge, Connor Sully, Matthew Willans.

Not sure why the selectors let Nathan McSweeney leave given his two strong Premier Cricket seasons on the trot. Averages something like @70 last year. I recall James Bazley as the bloke that helped polish the close fielding skills of Marnus when the two shared a unit some years ago. Dead set Bazley wud push food items off a kitchen bench and Marnus wud attemp to catch them before they hit the floor.
IMHO the Bulls have the country's best crop of young quicks in Bartlett, Edwards, Prestwidge, Willans and Sully.

 

[baggygreen man]

Tasmania Tigers:
The TCA has made several squad changes for the new season with the retirement of Alex Doolan the most notable omission alongside seam bowlers Tom Rogers and Alex Pyecroft as well as batsmen Keegan Oates and Jack White. Allrounder Brad Hope has joined from WA while teenager Nivethan Radhakrishnan, an opening batter and spinner capable of bowling with both arms, has joined from Sydney.

In: Brad Hope, Nivethan Radhakrishnan
Out: Alex Doolan, Keegan Oates, Alex Pyecroft, Tom Rogers, Jack White

Squad: Tom Andrews, Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Iain Carlisle, Jake Doran, Nathan Ellis, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Tim Paine*, Sam Rainbird, Peter Siddle, Jordan Silk, Mac Wright, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Beau Webster. Rookies: Jarrod Freeman, Brad Hope, Mitch Owen, Nivethan Radhakrishnan

The evergreen Pete Siddle has been given another year while the young, talented pace duo of Ian Carlisle and Lawrence Neil-Smith develop. Expecting big things from Sydney-born opener Tim Ward who is favored to take the Doolan opening spot. Surprised the Blues allowed Niv Radha to fly the coop. Equally surprised that the TCA has not promoted Jarrod Freeman to a full contract.

 

[baggygreen man]

WA:
West Aussie have retained the bulk of their squad with only bats Jake Carder (South Australia) and Brad Hope (Tasmania) chasing their chances elsewhere. Off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli has been upgraded from a rookie deal, while leg-spinner Liam O'Connor has been delisted.

Ins: Corey Rocchiccioli, Cooper Connolly, Bryce Jackson
Outs: Jake Carder (SA), Brad Hope (TAS), Liam O'Connor

Squad: Ashton Agar*, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green*, Liam Guthrie, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Bryce Jackson, Matthew Kelly, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Lance Morris, Joel Paris, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson*, Corey Rocchiccioli, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman. Rookies: Cooper Connolly, Sam Fanning, Jayden Goodwin, Bryce Jackson.

Looking for solid starts to the season for Cameron Green, Jhye Richardson and Josh Inglis. IMHO three of the best prospects, not only that WA has produced but Australia too. Even tho Inglis is not quite a total Aussie having come here as a early teen from Yorkshire.

 

[baggygreen man]

:
NSW BLUES:
With seven CA contracted players on their list, the Blues selectors have turned to youth with Lachlan Hearne, Oliver Davies, Tanveer Sangha and Baxter Holt all upgraded after playing a role in Shield at the end of last summer. Selectors have run out of patience and have delisted both Nick Larkin and Daniel Solway. While spinner Arjun Nair has been released and seamer Nathan McAndrew has joined South Australia.

In: Oliver Davies, Lachlan Hearne, Baxter Holt, Tanveer Sangha
Out: Nick Larkin, Nathan McAndrew (SA), Arjun Nair, Daniel Solway

Squad: Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Patrick Cummins*, Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Ryan Hackney, Josh Hazlewood*, Liam Hatcher, Lachlan Hearne, Moises Henriques, Baxter Holt, Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon*, Peter Nevill, Kurtis Patterson, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Steve Smith*, Mitchell Starc*, Chris Tremain, David Warner*, Adam Zampa*. Rookies: Josh Baraba, Ryan Hadley, Jack Nisbett, Hunar Verma

Finally the Blues clueless selectors have run with a youth policy. All but Davies of those upgraded from rookie status have big red ball futures in my view. Davies looks to be a specialist white baller. Hearne is a stylish left hander, Holt will replace Nevil with the gloves while Tanveer Sangha has the ability to be an all format player. Have been following Arjun Nair's career since his first Premier Cricket days as a 15 year old prodigy. Perhaps another cricketer that found the pressure of expectation suffocating.

 

[baggygreen man]

VICS:
The Vics have made only minor changes to their list for this season, with left-hander James Seymour – who made his Shield debut late last summer – earning a full contract after dominating at club level in Melbourne. Former Australia U-19 representative Patrick Rowe has lost his rookie deal, while pace bowler Fergus O'Neill has been added to the rookie list.

In: James Seymour, Fergus O'Neill
Out: Patrick Rowe

Squad: Scott Boland, Xavier Crone, Travis Dean, Zak Evans, Aaron Finch*, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Seb Gotch, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Jon Holland, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell*, Jonathan Merlo, Tom O'Connell, Wil Parker, James Pattinson*, Mitchell Perry, Will Pucovski, James Seymour, Matt Short, Will Sutherland. Rookies: Brody Couch, Sam Elliott, Tom Jackson, Cameron McClure, Todd Murphy, Fergus O'Neill.

 

[baggygreen man]

SACA REDBACKS:
The Redbacks have had some significant player turnover after their winless campaign last summer, with six new faces added to the senior list. Paceman Brendan Doggett is the most accomplished recruit having joined from Queensland, while highly-rated Western Australian Jake Carder has also signed on after his opportunities were limited in the west. Batsman Nathan McSweeney has joined from Queensland, Nathan McAndrew and Ryan Gibson have moved from NSW and former Victoria junior Sam Kerber has also earned a full contract. Veteran trio Callum Ferguson, Chadd Sayers (both retired) plus long time Redback Tom Cooper, Brad Davis, Conor McInerney, allrounder Cameron Valente and seamer Luke Robins have all been shown the door.

In: Brendan Doggett, Nathan McSweeney, Nathan McAndrew, Jake Carder, Sam Kerber, Ryan Gibson
Out: Callum Ferguson (retired), Chadd Sayers (retired), Tom Cooper, Brad Davis, Conor McInerney, Luke Robins, Cameron Valente.

Squad: Wes Agar, Alex Carey*, Jake Carder, Brendan Doggett, Daniel Drew, Ryan Gibson, David Grant, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Sam Kerber, Jake Lehmann, Nathan McAndrew, Joe Mennie, Harry Nielsen, Tim Oakley, Lloyd Pope, Kane Richardson*, Liam Scott, Jake Weatherald, Nick Winter, Daniel Worrall. Rookies: Jordan Buckingham, Bailey Capel, Kyle Brazell, Corey Kelly, Thomas Kelly

SACA had to be ruthless after the Redbacks shocker last season. Have already mentioned the merits of McSweeney, Doggett and Carder but Gibson, Kerber and McAndrew are also good pick ups. Gibson is a former CA National Performance scholar who lost his way with the Blues. A new state may just reinvigorate his career. A couple of top rookies in the Kelly twins. These two have the tools to play all formats imho.